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consa01 · 70-79, M
The USA has the highest rates of STDs in the first world, with the exception of HIV, where it is tied for first place with Portugal, a country where needle drugs are legal. These facts are completely inconsistent with any claim that circumcised men are less likely to contract and spread STDs. I am reluctant to accept the claim that Americans are the least faithful sexual partners in the first world. I strongly suspect that circumcised men are more reluctant to use condoms because condoms + no foreskin = boring sex.
sighmeupforthat · 46-50, M
consa01 · 70-79, M
@sighmeupforthat: I lived in the USA for 43 years, and did all of my formal education there.
The possible adverse effect of circumcision on condom use has never been studied, a fact which I deem unconscionable. If foreskin and condom use are positively correlated, that would help explain why STDs are such a serious problem in the USA.
The possible adverse effect of circumcision on condom use has never been studied, a fact which I deem unconscionable. If foreskin and condom use are positively correlated, that would help explain why STDs are such a serious problem in the USA.
Phire1 · 51-55, F
@consa01: I think it is an absurd claim with regard to circumcision correlating to less chance of STD's. Foreskin is not going to protect anyone from bodily fluids
consa01 · 70-79, M
@Phire1: The accusation is not that foreskin "protects" people from germ-bearing bodily fluids, but that it provides a warm and moist environment that is welcoming to bacteria and viruses. This argument overlooks the biome that inhabits the preputial sack (the importance of biomes to human health is only beginning to be understood), and the ease of washing under the foreskin. That circumcised men may be more reluctant to use condoms is a possibility that no one has researched.
Phire1 · 51-55, F
@consa01: They do make "larger sized" condoms, ya know, however. A "warm and moist" environment 'can' be a breeding ground for bacteria. Although, it does take bodily fluids to contract STD's...via blood and semen (mostly).
consa01 · 70-79, M
@Phire1: There is research that concludes that circumcised men have erections that average a bit less tan those of intact men. The hypothetical mechanism is that the foreskin supplies the extra skin needed to accommodate erection. More skin translated to more erection. I cannot say more, because the only erect penis I have ever seen is my own...
Condom size is irrelevant to the issue we are discussing. Anticircumcision activists argue that the foreskin and frenulum are very sensitive in their own right, and are removed by circumcision. Furthermore, circumcision permanently exposed the glans, which gradually toughens, dries out and loses sensitivity. Most circumcised men are OK sexually in their 20s and 30s, and some are OK longer than that. But I wonder if condoms move many/most circumcised men from acceptable sex to boring sex. If this is the case, this could help explain how the USA has high incidences of adult circumcised penises AND STDs.
Condom size is irrelevant to the issue we are discussing. Anticircumcision activists argue that the foreskin and frenulum are very sensitive in their own right, and are removed by circumcision. Furthermore, circumcision permanently exposed the glans, which gradually toughens, dries out and loses sensitivity. Most circumcised men are OK sexually in their 20s and 30s, and some are OK longer than that. But I wonder if condoms move many/most circumcised men from acceptable sex to boring sex. If this is the case, this could help explain how the USA has high incidences of adult circumcised penises AND STDs.